Memento Mori
by Existential Insanity
Summary: For a man with so many gaps in his memory and an indestructible skeleton on top of a mutant healing factor, remembering his mortality is a hard thing to do. Rahne helps him remember.


A/N: I don't own X-men. If I did Wolverine would put his dick in every piece of tail that came his way.

Memento Mori

Logan had been called Logan or Wolverine for as long as he could remember. Which was only about 1968 and forward. He could remember pain, suffering, and cold. Very little of his 'recent' past was pleasant.

Logan remembered the love he felt around Mariko. It was the most fantastic feeling he could remember. Which was why when he had to kill her, the loss was that much more terrible.

Anna Marie, Logan was one of the few who knew Rogue's real name, was another bright spot. Unfortunately, it too was shadowed here and there. She was a beautiful feisty girl Logan was very proud of and wished he could call her daughter. But it was her mutation that caused her pain. Logan wanted so badly to take it from her.

The damn Cajun continued to court Anna despite not being able to be intimate. While Logan didn't like the fact the boy, everyone save Creed was a boy to Logan, was a thief, a damn good one, Remy LeBeau was a stand up man. Someone Logan would only bark at, until Remy really hurt Anna.

Then the thief would find out how he matched up against a living, nigh indestructible weapon.

Then there was little Jubilation Lee. Or Jubes, to the gruff man. Logan had meet Anna when she was already a teen, but Jubes had barely entered womanhood when the two met. She had been in juvie and the X-men had found her living in a mall. He took her out of there.

Not even little Jubes was without dark spots that Logan wished he could wash away in the rain.

The girl had been a decent pick pocket, but not good enough to sustain herself. Jubes had taken to whoring herself out, from time to time, to make ends meet. The short, broad man had spent many nights, those first few months, staying up with the girl. Soothing tears and being a listener.

Logan couldn't change her past, but he'd be damned if he ever let that happen to her again.

But a recent addition to the list of good memories drudged up old ones. Ones both good and bad. Vague and definite.

Logan felt _young_ in the dreams. There was a pretty red headed woman. Rose, he thought her name was, and she called dream-him James sometimes, and Logan other times. The dream-Logan loved her as much as Logan remembered loving Mariko. But just like Mariko, there was something that stopped him from continuing to love her.

The nice dreams never let him know, but the not so nice dreams... did not end pleasantly for Rose.

He raged against a man he called 'Dog.' White hot rage, just like he felt for Creed. He'd been about to strike the scarred man down for good when Rose intervened. And just like Mariko, she was killed by his claws.

Then the dreams bled into dreams and memories of wolves. And the dreams of wolves brought dreams of two other young red-headed women.

Jean Grey was a great, as well as terrible, influence on Logan. He could not remember anyone else who brought such fire to his loins. And she knew it. After the other girl showed up and the dreams began, Logan surmised that was because Jean resembled Rose, so much. In looks and in temperament. His years long love and lust for Rose had been shifted to the future Mrs. Summers.

But it was the young Rahne Sinclair that brought the dreams. A young Scotswoman, almost done with high school. Her mutation allowed her to shape shift into a wolf, even allowed her to become a wolfman-esque being. When she was human she had some tendencies of a feral mutant. Rahne would sometime rub herself on something she considered hers, or defend a favourite chair with far more vehemence than was needed. The Cannonball Hick nearly wet himself the one time he sat in her chair.

She also refused to look Logan in the eye for any longer than a brief glimpse. Or anyone who had authority over her for that matter, save a few. At first Logan didn't understand why she wouldn't look at him when he spoke yet volunteered whenever he asked, until he'd been flicking through the channels on the TV and in his boredom watched a special on wolves.

Rahne saw him in a superior position, and would not challenge him that position, and would obey most of what he told her to do.

The two of them never, for the most part, interacted outside of the classroom or Danger Room. She was a social animal, just like her wolf. She had found a pack. And just like _Gulo Gulo_, Logan was largely a solitary animal.

In all reality, the two of them acted so much like their inner beasts, others would comment on it from time to time. Never to Logan's face though.

It is because of this, Logan knew only time would tell if he would 'steal' her 'kills' and tear her to shreds in the process.

X x X x X

Logan stood covered in blood and gore, having just tore through the para-military goons that had captured a mutant and experimented on him.

Even as the bullets forced themselves out of his chest and onto the floor, Wolfsbane walked up to him and mustered her courage to say only one phrase.

"Memento Mori."

'Remember you are mortal.'

Logan laughed as much as his healing body would allow. In return he spoke a phrase to her, that Creed used to say to him.

"Quod sum Eris."

'I am what you will become.'

She shivered but from what Logan would never know.

X x X x X

A/N: Yay! Read 'More Alike then You Think,' you should too btw, it was good stuff. Got stuck in my X-men addled brain. Could not get it out. So I purged. This is the result, well this and it's sister. I've put out some good oneshots but I seem to lose threads somewheres, so be a buddy, and tell me how I did. Then go find Quod Sum Eris and do the same.


End file.
